Alexis – Since you checked out Goodwyn – figure I’ll encourage you to go to firstofthemonth.org and read pieces by Charles O’Brien in the War on Terror section, beginning with his 9/11 meditation – “The War” – O’Brien and (more famously, though not more fiercely) Kanan Makiya made the pro-war case for radical imaginations – Can’t pretend too many folks were swayed but I certainly was. (Like you, I never went for WMD as an key – But when Makiya successfully pushed Bush to come out for demos and Federalism for the Kurds BEFORE OIF – I put my queer shoulder to the wheel…

BTW – Tried to get some traction for O’Brien et al at the Club way back in the day, but folks here didn’t know what to make of pro-war polemicists from the left. (Though I think Hitchens got some respect.) Not whining about that – You’ve defined the cultural/political context which makes crossing over HARD. And, then there is also those pesky, sticky “economic” questions as per Wade’s laugh line above. But – A. I think you’re being a bit disingenous when you bemoan the absence of a pols (on either side) who will allow the other side had a point re the War. Obama has done that repeatedly! Hell that’s HOW he got famous in 2004. (Patriots who supported and patriots who opposed yada yada…) BTW – he did it again (implicitly admittedly) in that speech in Germany – pushing back on any Euro who had concluded that America was not overwhelmingly a force for good in the world. As a matter of fact, he was probably over-the-top there! – Like most big and powerful countries we done some bullying in our time.) I hear you re O’s politics of prevarication NOW when it comes to the surge – but you know he’s playing in a gotcha game and McCain is not going to let him rewrite the rules on the fly…Though, you know I just read a Hitch piece (and you know he’s no fan of OBama’s) that pointed out how honestly O dealt with the Surge question in one debate with Hillary. (I remembered the moment Hitch cited perfectly.) Wish O had stayed the course there – but I noticed Maliki had given him an Out weeks ago. He IS a pol and he’s going to see if he can slide over the surface to safe water – Course he’s best when he gets in trouble and dives down deep…

Appreciate Old Blue’s comments and I’m with him all the way on Teresita. That’s a contrarian who would sharpen anyone’s arguments. I appreciated Wretch’s prophecy in this thread – I’d roll with it. Though that might make W. think twice! Occurs to me that Wretch’s forward thinking leaps right past some of the doomier forecasts that often rule here among the most fearful and prideful posters…